Here we find ourselves in the new year 2021. All the months in front of us.

Last night I read until I got sleepy. Outside my window I could hear the wild winds blowing the tree branches to and fro.

I felt snug and warm in my bed, safe from the elements, in my cozy one bedroom apartment. I’ve never felt more grateful for my little port in the storm.

Cold & The Homeless:

I think of the homeless out there in this bitter weather.

So many people now out in the cold, more and more each day, aimlessly walking. No longer aware of a destination.

They must feel betrayed. It has been a very unbalanced scale of riches in this country for so long now.

Ivy & Her Q-Tips:

I’ve told you recently about Ivy’s Q-tip fascination.

Well, yesterday I happened to raise the two pet pillows I keep at the bottom of the doggy steps in the living room. I placed them there for Charlie to land on when he stumbles and falls.

This way he at least has a much softer landing.

Out of curiosity I picked up the two layers of pillows. And underneath I found quite a surprise.

Now I know where all Ivy’s stolen Q-tips are ending up.

Where She’s Putting Them:

It was like lifting a big rock and finding a nest of little snakes underneath.

I moved the array of Q-tips out from underneath the pillows, which made Ivy unhappy.

Then, a few hours later, she’d managed to move the Q-tips back underneath the pillows. I didn’t see her do it. So she must have done it on the sly.

I have no idea why she’s doing this. But I’ll just leave them be.

Music I’m Listening To:

I am listening to the most beautiful piano music. It is David Nevue’s “Awakenings.”

My portable fireplace is keeping my feet warm. The faux flames are beautiful and look quite real.

I’m so glad I purchased it. I’ve really enjoyed this faux fireplace. It manages to heat up the entire apartment. The one Ivy, Charlie and I rest so comfortably in.

The wind settled sometime during the night. The tree branches I see through the French doors barely move and sway now.

In a few months it will be time for spring gardening, which is the season I long for. All those plans and expectations. Choosing seeds and plants for when the ground thaws.

Happy New Year to you all! Hopefully 2021 will be a much better and healthier year for us all.

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I'm Brenda, creator of Cozy Little House. I live with my cat, Ivy, who keeps me laughing. I graduated from journalism school with a degree in professional writing and won awards for feature writing. I practice gratitude and enjoy my solitude. The glass is always half-full.

22 Comments

  1. Happy New Year Brenda,
    so glad you are feeling contentment and warmth and are safe. 2020 was a brutal year for everyone. Praying we have a healthy New Year for our families and neighbors and the world!
    God Bless

  2. I’m always especially grateful for my warm home in winter, too.

    I read every night before bed until I start nodding off. I just make sure I don’t read anything too exciting or scary. I usually choose a book of poetry or a magazine.

    Ivy hiding the Q-tips under the pillow reminds me of Clementine’s fascination with pens. If there’s one on the kitchen table, she loves to bat it around, especially getting it under the table runner. Do big cats hide their prey? Maybe it’s an ancestral thing.

    I hope that 2021 is a much better year for all of us!

  3. We usually are awakened by fireworks at midnight but it was raining all night so I guess everyone stayed inside. When I woke up this morning and realized I had gotten to sleep through the night with no fireworks, it seemed like a great start to the new year. As for hoarding pets, we once had a dog that had been rescued, and she just did not know how to play with toys. She claimed them for herself but just ran and shoved them into the kennel where she slept at night, and then paid no more attention to them. I decided to give her kennel a cleaning one day, and I discovered that she had also stored away a pen, two pencils, some cotton balls, a plastic spoon an empty dental floss container and some wadded up paper. We got some trash cans with lids after that, and watched her a lot closer! Hope everyone has a happy and healthy year.

  5. While the homeless situation is indeed worrying, it is maybe moreso a condition brought on by how much our society has gone down the tubes, such as all the broken family relationships. If a clan hangs together and helps each other, even financial benefits can be had. It is the saddest part to me that our little family has not been able to have nice relationships with our extended family. But everyone gets choices in life…and so it is. Not a wonder we so loved watching shows in past years like Little House on the Prairie and The Waltons is it? I hope this year will bring stronger bonds within families so we can survive whatever else might be thrown at us. I am grateful we have managed 2020 so well as we have and we surely hope for better times ahead!!

  6. Happy New Year Brenda!! Yes may we all have a healthy happy new year I love your daily posts and hearing about your fur babies and your home Here’s to an Awesome Year Everyone stay warm everybody ! This cold we’re having here in upstate SC is too cold for this southern girl thank goodness for a fireplace and cozy blankets

  7. Happy New Year Brenda. Hopefully 2021 will be a year of Goodwill. Your posts about your two love bugs, always make me smile. Smiles are what we all need, thanks for that. Bonnie in Cold WI

  8. Happy New Year to you and your fur babies. It’s cold here in Ohio too and I’m very happy to stay inside. I am looking forward to spring and planting all the new flowers and vegetables. Stay warm.

  9. Happy New Year Brenda! I have been feeling very grateful as well for all I have. I’m quite content with comfortable as long as I also a furry friend in our space.

  10. Happy New Year Brenda!! Yes may we all have a healthy happy new year I love your daily posts and hearing about your fur babies and your home Here’s to an Awesome Year Everyone stay warm everybody this cold we’re having her in upstate SC is brrrr this southern girl is freezing 🥶

  11. Ivy is quite the stealthy kitty. I love that you let her finally keep her acquisitions. Happy New Year to you. Here’s hoping we all have a happier and healthier New Year to come.

  13. Happy New Year to you and the fur babies, Brenda. And thank you for your always interesting and original daily posts – that is quite an accomplishment!
    Love Ivy’s Q-Tip nest and you for deciding to let them be.
    Mary

  14. Stay cozy and warm and be thankful you are a very content person in this crazy world. I for one am like you and happy I have a safe home that surrounds me with all the comfort I need. Here’s to a much more peaceful New Year as I am so over the drama government inflicts selfishly. Blessings to healthcare workers who deserve a break from this virus that is sending people to the hospitals to get a chance to live. It’s just time to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and feel compassion.

  15. Happy 2021 Everyone! 🎉
    I hope and pray this will be the best year ever for everybody, getting rid of covid 19 and have our economy pick up!
    I’m thinking only positive this year!
    Stay safe and be well!

  16. Happy New Year to you Brenda. I, too, am extremely grateful for my home. I pass the homeless on the streets in tents on my way home from work and my hear breaks for them all. It is such a complex problem that I despair of anyone in leadership providing a way out. I’m looking forward to a brighter 2021 for sure!

  17. That Ivy is such a crack up. I love that she took them right back and you never saw her!!

  18. Happy New Year, Brenda!! Wishing you a year of comfort and joy! Stay safe and healthy.

  19. Wishing all a Happy Healthy, New Year filled with hope, joy and laughter!

  21. Happy New Year Brenda !
    I love the story of Ivy and her “stash”. Our pets have their own quirky personalities just like us.

  22. Happy New Year to all ! Yes ! I hope it is a healthier 2021 !

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